Circuit City Rep Offers Refund Of $389, Now Is "No Longer In The Dept" And Won't Help

Josh realized he forgot to click a “web only special” link when ordering something from CircuitCity.com, so he suspected that his order was not processed correctly. He called customer service as a precaution and sure enough, because he didn’t click the link they said he wouldn’t be getting the the deal and there was nothing they could do about it.

Eventually he escalated his issue up to Crystal, a “Customer Support Coordinator,” who told him that she would cancel his first order, put in the correct order and (since the price had gone up $389) refund the difference in price to Josh’s bank account.

That was 21 days ago. He’s been calling and emailing Crystal ever since, wondering where his $389 dollars is. Her response? She’s “no longer in the dept.”

Josh writes:

On July 16th I purchased my first HDTV from CircuityCity.com. At the time I ordered it, there was a “web only special” going on for a free “home theater in a box” along with the TV. Naturally, I jumped on the offer as it was very competitively price compared to other big box store’s websites. As I was doing this, however, I didn’t click the “web only special” link. Long story short, out of precaution I contacted customer service the next day and was informed that simply because I didn’t click on the correct link (but quite obviously purchased the television within the proper time frame to receive the HTIB) I wouldn’t be getting it and there was nothing they could do to change this.

So after several hours spent on the phone with outsourced CS reps I was transferred to tier 2 support where I spoke to Ms. Crystal [redacted] (her email signature denotes her as a “Customer Support Coordinator” and it reads:

We had to go through a rather complicated procedure to get things resolved, she said. She canceled my original order and re-placed a second one, that would include the HTIB. The catch, though, is that in the 26 hours since I had ordered the TV, the price had gone up $400! (presumably because of the special). “Don’t worry,” she told me, “I’ll price adjust the second order down to the price of the first order and you’ll have that amount (~$389) credited back to your account.”

Here we are, 21 days later and no response from Crystal [redacted] or Circuit City support. I called Ms. [redacted] numerous times and left just as many voicemails over the period of three weeks and never received a return phone call. I also sent, by my count 12 emails, one of which received the following response:

Mr. [redacted],

I do apologize for any inconvience please contact 1-800-251-2665 for further assistance. I am no longer in the dept that can assist you. My notes in your case are clear and any agent will be able to assist.

Sincerely,

Crystal [redacted]

Today I contacted CC executive support (on the advice of Alex the intern…thanks Alex) and spoke to someone there. However, they were not particularly willing to help nor did she sound very hopeful. They informed me that my case was still “under investigation” and a “resolution” was pending. I spoke with Cheryl [redacted] at 804.486.3282.

Yes, I’m still within my window of return for the television but the idea that a company would actively try to screw me like this is infuriating. You’d think that, from their viewpoint, it would be easier to refund me my $389 then to have to resell a $1500 television. If it does go back, however, you can be sure I’ll be informing Samsung that there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with the television, just so CC has to resell it open box.